A TTORNEY ADVERTISING / SUPER LAWYERS MAGAZINE / NEW YORK METRO 2015 25 SUPERLAWYERS.COMtogether a compromise resolution no one is happywith, but which becomes the basis for a stablenegotiated deal.”In part because of her work on a landmark1986 U.S. Supreme Court case establishingsome forms of sexual harassment as civil rightsviolations, Plevan has become an authority, asattorney and adviser, on sexual harassmentissues. In 1980, Plevan became Proskauer’sfourth female partner. She created a femalepartners’ group, became involved in the firm’smanagement—eventually serving on its executivecommittee—and was the first chair for the newlyformed New York City Bar Association Committeeon Women in the Profession. She launched thecommittee’s 1995 landmark study of women inlaw, “Glass Ceilings and Open Doors.”As a “birth mother” of the report, Plevan wasasked that year to add a comment for the FordhamLaw Review. In conversation, she tends to talkmatter-of-factly about everything and duck nothing,and that’s apparent in her writing as well. Moreneeded to be done in terms of gender and familyissues, she wrote in the law review, adding, “Wemust also recognize, however, that the law hasbecome a very demanding profession and thatmany of those demands are created by the clientswe service, not the firm’s executive committee.Lawyers who want to reach the highest professionallevels in that environment will need to be flexibleenough to be able to satisfy those demands.”Younger associates loved working for her—inpart because she was considerate and efficient.In the morning, she handed out assignments; at7 p.m., she left the office; at 10 p.m., she resumedwork at home. The next morning, her commentswould be waiting for associates when they came in.

“She never tortured us with fake deadlines,”says Marina Lowy, one of a number of Proskauerassociates who went on to corporate jobs and thenhired Plevan as outside counsel. “She worked sohard, but she also said, ‘You can come talk to meconfidentially,’ and she would listen.” Lowy, nowsenior associate general counsel for Mount SinaiHealth System, adds, “She makes you feel likeyou’re her only client, her number-one client.”“I worked for her, too,” says Elizabeth Hook,director and associate general counsel atCitigroup. “She’s got an enormous amount ofenergy, more than any other human being I’veever met. Betsy is always focused.”Hook and other associates say Plevan didn’tcompartmentalize, trying to keep job and familyseparate. Instead, when she took a call from oneof her sons, no matter how pressured at work, sheshifted gears instantly. “And this was at a time wherepeople didn’t talk about work-life balance,” Lowysays. “She was kind of a pioneer in that regard.”“I learned so much watching her with herfamily,” Hook says. “Such a loving mom.”

PLEVAN, STILL AT PROSKAUER, AND HER

husband, still at Skadden, spend as much time asthey can with their son William, a rabbi, and hisfamily. Their 10-year-old grandson loves to sleepover at their place on the Upper East Side andbounce in the waves with them at their house atLido Beach on Long Island. (Their younger son,Jeff, who had learning disabilities, died of a heartattack in 2013 at age 36. “We are still dealingwith that,” Plevan says.)

In recent years, she and her husband have
taken up cycling and have made extended bike
trips through Morocco, Austria and Italy. France
is next. “We will, at some point, slow down,” she
says. “But I don’t know when.”

THE PASSION TO REPRESENT
ACCIDENT VICTIMS AND THE
EXPERIENCE TO GET RESULTS

The attorneys of Arye, Lustig & Sassower,
P.C. are known for their skillful and tenacious
representation of individuals injured due to
the fault of others in cases involving accidents
and medical malpractice, with an emphasis on
construction accidents. Mitchell J. Sassower
and D. Carl Lustig III, who are again honored on
the Super Lawyers list, were recently inducted
into the National Association of Distinguished
Counsel, which includes less than 1 percent of
U.S. attorneys in its Nation’s Top Attorneys.

With many seven-figure verdicts to his credit,Lustig is the firm’s senior trial partner. He isa member of the Million Dollar AdvocatesForum and the American Board of TrialAdvocates. Sassower, the firm’s managingpartner, has a distinguished reputation asa shrewd negotiator. Both are sought-afterspeakers on labor law, construction accidentsand other topics related to trial practice.

Robert M. Fiala has been with the firm for more
than two decades and is known as a gifted
litigator and negotiator. Jay A. Wechsler’s
skills in cases involving personal injury and
medical malpractice are again recognized
with inclusion to Rising Stars. Rachele M. Van
Arsdale, whose family has a proud history in
New York’s construction unions, brings passion
and energy to her legal practice.

For more details on the firm’s proven record ofsuccess, please see the website at als-lawyers.com.ARYE, LUSTIG & SASSOWER, P.C.NEW YORK